Save Energy Co | Windows & Doors – Replacement & Installation View RSS

What Makes French Patio Doors Different from Standard Patio Doors 7 Jan 2022 7:16 AM (3 years ago)

You’ve finally decided you’ve fought your last battle with that sticky, difficult-to-open patio door. You’ve smashed your nose against the glass for the last time. It needs to be replaced NOW! Simple enough to do, right? After all, you live in the San Francisco North Bay Area. Several replacement window contractors are serving Marin and Sonoma Counties. But when talking with the different window consultants, they kept showing you options – sliding patio doors, sliding French doors, hinged patio doors, hinged French doors – so many options! Do you want to replace what you have, or do you want to upgrade – maybe add a bit of style to the place?

Arrrrgh! You’re going to live with these doors for the next 20+years. How do you make the RIGHT choice?

At Save Energy Company, we help you decide what’s best for you and your home by providing straightforward, knowledgeable and experience-based answers to your questions.

What’s the difference between patio doors & French patio doors?

The difference has to do with the size of the frame at the bottom of the door. A standard door has a slim bottom rail. The French patio door has a taller bottom rail, generally 6 – 8 inches in height.  Not as glamorous a difference as the name suggests, right? That’s why marketing guys get paid the big bucks to make things seem more glamorous than they are… That said, standard doors offer a more contemporary, open and streamlined look. French-style doors lend a more classic look.

As indicated earlier, both standard and French patio doors come in sliding or hinged styles. Hinged doors swing either out or in to open.

Hinged patio & French patio doors have one very strong characteristic: they are dramatic. There’s something special about grabbing a handle in each hand and thrusting the doors open with a flourish. It’s all very Hollywood.

Here are two things to consider when deciding between hinged doors or sliders:

1. Is there room to swing the doors open on both the outside and inside?
2. Is the landing on the outside of the doors big enough to make opening the doors from outside easy, convenient?

A third consideration is typically the tie-breaker – what will you be carrying through the door most often? If you carry bulky items like a laundry basket through the doorway, you’ll probably find a slider to be your best option. They typically open wider and can be easily opened with one hand. (Forgot about that, right? Patio doors aren’t made to be difficult to open. They’re made to glide open with one finger!)

Sliding patio doors also give a home a more modern look – even if they are sliding French patio doors.

In the end, choosing the patio door style that’s best for you comes down to aesthetics and functionality. What looks best with your style of home? Which will be easier, more convenient to use, day in, day out?

When you finally decide which is best for you and your home, your Save Energy Company replacement window consultant will guide you through the offerings from their top-quality, nationally-recognized manufacturers, Simonton, Milgard and Marvin.  Of course, then you’ll have to decide what type of frame construction you want – vinyl, fiberglass or wood?  There are key differences and benefits to understand and consider here, too, but that’s a topic for another day. What you won’t have to decide any longer is which story you tell about how you hurt your nose….

Save Energy Windows & Doors: East Petaluma Surprise 12 Aug 2020 9:39 PM (4 years ago)

We Love Surprises.

Sometimes you love them.  Sometimes you hate them.  They’re like a lot of things in life – context matters. Take owning a home. “Surprise!” isn’t usually an announcement you embrace with open arms.

As replacement window and patio door installers, one thing that makes our work rewarding is surprises. Seriously. We love them. “We never really know what we’re going to find when we take out the old window or door,” commented Luis Flores, the 15-year installation veteran and crew foreman for Save Energy Co.  “The surprises are fun. They’re the challenges to be solved. They make the job interesting.”

One such surprise happened during a recent installation project in East Petaluma.  The crew removed the original sliding patio door. When they cleaned the work area and measured to assess the fitment of the new door, they noticed an extra layer of concrete protruding beyond the edge of the hardwood flooring creating an uneven, narrow sill.

“My guys hadn’t seen this before and wondered how to best deal with it so the new door could be installed the right way with a proper seal and tight fit,” explained Luis. “I told them the most effective and efficient thing to do was to chisel it out.”

As the crew worked, Luis talked with the homeowner about the situation. She mentioned the original flooring had been tile. They had removed it a few years ago and installed hardwood. That explanation made perfect sense and confirmed his suspicions. The surprise extra layer of concrete was the “float” spread over the foundation to create a level base for the tile.  The situation made this installation atypical – especially since it affected both patio doors being installed. Dealing with it took the crew additional time.

Luis had seen such situations before and knew the best way to handle them. He knew it was no big deal, just a momentary inconvenience. There was no need to charge an extra fee for the unexpected work.

This is one advantage of choosing Save Energy Company for the installation of replacement windows and doors – proven experience.

Big Box stores and many smaller window shops use inexperienced day laborers who may or may not be supervised by an on-site company foreman. Do they have the experience to handle such surprises? Will they see this as an opportunity to up-charge the customer? Do they care about doing the job the right way? As a homeowner, you may never know until it’s too late – as in, “Why is there a huge puddle of water under my new patio door?” or, “What’s this extra charge all about?”

Replacing windows and patio doors can be a significant investment. When installed correctly, they will add value to your home and make it much more comfortable and  enjoyable for years to come.  The last thing you want, as a homeowner, is an installation failure within months of the project being completed.

Save Energy Company installation craftsmen have the knowledge and experience to meet a project’s surprise challenges with proper solutions. We know how to provide you, the homeowner, with years of trouble-free use. We take care of the surprises so you receive the best benefit of all – peace of mind.

If you’d like to take a virtual tour of Save Energy’s Petaluma windows and doors showroom, watch our Welcome to Our Showroom video below.

North Bay Service Areas: San Francisco, Sausalito, Marin, San Rafael, Novato, Petaluma, Sonoma, Healdsburg, Calistoga, and more.

For more information about Save Energy’s various services, please feel free to call us toll-free at 1-800-728-3878 for a FREE estimate.

We are ready, prepared, and happy to help you and your family with both single-family and multi-family residential door and windows projects in the beautiful Petaluma and North Bay areas.

Call 415-492-1814 or contact us for a FREE estimate.

Post Quarantine Re-Opening | Bay Area Doors and Windows 7 Jul 2020 10:40 AM (4 years ago)

Save Energy Windows & Doors of Petaluma is back up and running! For over 40 years, we’ve been the premier, locally-owned and family-operated entry door and replacement window contractor of choice in San Francisco, Marin, and Sonoma counties.

We have implemented a number of COVID-19 mitigation measures to help safeguard the health and well-being of our clientele and team members. From initial consult to installation, our product and installation experts will continue to exceed your expectations with health safety as the #1 Priority.

Additional Health & Safety Measures:

• We’ll be in compliance with all current and applicable OSHA and Cal-OSHA SCP protocols
• Our team leaders are the designated, site-specific COVID-19 supervisor. They’ll be happy to answer any questions you may have
• They will review all protocols with homeowners, property managers and residents prior to the start of work.

• We’ve established daily, pre-work screening protocols to insure that installers and office staff are healthy and free of infection, in accordance with the CDC recommendations.
• We will cover furnishings with single-use plastic before initiating work, and implement a high-level cleaning and decontamination protocol when we’ve finished working in a room. See here
• We’ll practice social distancing by maintaining a minimum of a 6-foot distance between all workers, homeowners, residents, and people present

• All Save Energy employees and staff will wear face coverings and gloves
• All Save Energy trucks are equipped with personal sanitizing kits, as well as a soap and water hand washing apparatus

Read more about How We’re Guarding Your Health While Transforming Your Home here

If you’d like to take a virtual tour of Save Energy’s Petaluma windows and doors showroom, watch our Welcome to Our Showroom video below.

North Bay Service Areas: San Francisco, Sausalito, Marin, San Rafael, Novato, Petaluma, Sonoma, Healdsburg, Calistoga, and more.

For more information about Save Energy’s various services, please feel free to call us toll-free at 1-800-728-3878 for a FREE estimate.

We are ready, prepared, and happy to help you and your family with both single-family and multi-family residential door and windows projects in the beautiful Petaluma and North Bay areas.

Call 415-492-1814 or contact us for a FREE estimate.

5 ways your new fiberglass doors will withstand the elements and look new for years to come 28 Jun 2019 10:19 AM (5 years ago)

Fiberglass entry doors combine a modern look that is almost indistinguishable from wood with technology and energy-saving features to shield your home from the elements for years to come.

Here are five ways that new fiberglass doors from Save Energy are able to withstand harsh weather conditions and still look like new for years to come.

1. Hydroshield Technology

• Protects against moisture and humidity
• Prevents mildew
• Guards against water infiltration
• Minimizes warping

2. Closed Cellular Structure

• Resists water absorption
• Reduces splitting, rusting, insect damage

3. Snap-on Glass Panel Frame

• Eliminates unsightly nail holes
• Locks glass securely in place

4. Poly-Fiber (PF) Door Frames

• Resists rotting, deterioration
• Provides twice the screw-holding power of wood
• Never absorbs moisture, splinters or rusts

5. Energy Efficient

• Energy Star® qualified
• NFRC certified
• Helps reduce energy bills
• Reduces carbon footprint of your home
• Saves energy by not needing maintenance

Call 415-492-1814 or contact us for a FREE estimate.

5 Steps to Keep Your Wood Doors Looking Beautiful 21 Jun 2019 9:55 AM (5 years ago)

2. Clean with a damp sponge at least once every season to remove fine soot and dirt particles that can scratch the surface and dull the finish.

3. Treat your doors with high-quality lemon oil to restore and protect the surface. Many products contain sunscreens. Avoid those with silicates and waxes as they tend to leave a residue.

4. An overhang of 30″ or more will help provide added protection from the elements, as will glass or screen storm doors (though they also hide the door.)

5. Re-finish the door with a high-grade, UV-protective exterior paint or varnish every 3 to 4 years. Make certain to paint all 6 surfaces — front, back, top, bottom, front side, back side.

(Note: A lot of people forget to paint/varnish the top and bottom. Complete coverage of these surfaces is critical to providing a solid, continuous weather barrier for your door.)

Call 415-492-1814 or contact us for a FREE estimate.

Demand the best from your window company 3 May 2019 8:53 AM (5 years ago)

What do you need to look for when it comes to home window replacements and installation?  How about a window company with:

• Experienced, certified, factory-trained and in-house;

• Crews that show up on time, or calls to tell you when they’re going to arrive – before they’re late…

• The experience to spot hidden issues like mold and dry rot and make the proper remediation;

• Meticulous cleanup so that it looks like they weren’t even there (don’t take our word for this, check the 100+ reviews on Yelp)!

If this sounds like the way you want your window installation project to flow, then give us a call at Save Energy Windows and Doors. Whether you’re in San Francisco, Marin, San Rafael, Petaluma, Sonoma or Santa Rosa, we’ve got the crews to get the job done to your high-standards… and satisfaction.

What you get when you go with Save Energy

When you purchase your custom, made-to-measure, replacement windows from Save Energy Co, you get the finest installation craftsmen in the industry.

But that’s not all.  You’ll also go through a needs assessment, decision-making process that will be fun and enjoyable because it’s guided by our experienced, window and door specialists who pride themselves on their “no-pressure” consultations.  They’ll listen to your ideas.  They’ll look over your project areas. They’ll provide you with the best options to meet your needs and fit within your budget.

Is financing a consideration? We have low-interest plans available as well as ones that help you take advantage of government energy-efficiency upgrade programs.

How long will the installation take?

Replacement window installation typically takes less than a day – sometimes just a few hours. It’s also one of the best and fastest ways to enhance your home’s curb appeal.

If you’re in San Francisco, Marin, San Rafael, Petaluma, Sonoma or Santa Rosa, we’re your best choice for new replacement windows and window installation.  We’re Save Energy Windows and Doors.  We’ve been making homeowners satisfied for over 35 years.

One of the secrets to our installation crews’ meticulous cleanup is cleaning as you go. This helps to greatly reduce dirt and dust from being tracked all around.

What happens after my windows have been installed?

Once your new, replacement windows and doors are installed, you’ll love how easy they are to operate.  No more need to open windows with two hands and muscle.  No more hitting your nose on the glass door because it won’t open fast enough.  And that horrible metal-on-metal screech you hear every time the patio door is opened?  Gone. Gone. Gone.

Also, missing-in-action will be those high heating and air conditioning bills.  Dual pane windows help insulate against heat loss or infiltration of cold outside air. They help even out the temperature throughout your home, eliminating hot and cold spots, making it much more comfortable throughout the seasons.  Dual panes also reduce annoying outside noises.  Choose the optional sound dampening package and your house will be library quiet 24/7/365.

Have you ever noticed how furnishings and flooring around windows tend to fade, dry out or get brittle?  The UV-blocking properties of your new replacement windows will make that a thing of the past, as well.

Call 1-800-728-3878 or contact us for a FREE in-home estimate.

7 Reasons Why You’ll Love Your New Replacement Windows 25 Apr 2019 8:26 AM (5 years ago)

Here are seven reasons why we think you’re going to LOVE your new replacement windows from Save Energy:

1. Reduce your heating and cooling costs
2. Eliminate 99.5% of Ultraviolet damage
3. Increase comfort, decrease drafts
4. Enhance peace, quiet and tranquility
5. Greatly reduce maintenance needs
6. Improve home security
7. Enhance exterior beauty and “curb appeal”

Your windows could be driving up your heating and cooling bills

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Energy Star Buildings Manual, “windows almost always represent the largest source of unwanted heat loss and heat gain in buildings”.

At a time when energy costs are at an all-time high, can you afford to “give away” energy? Older windows that are poorly designed, constructed and installed allow energy to pass through easily, reducing efficiency and increasing your monthly bills.

Save Energy Windows & Doors wants you to be able to keep your Bay Area home cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter without over spending on your utility bill due to energy waste.

The most effective and least intrusive way to reduce your home energy loss is by installing energy-efficient replacement windows from Save Energy Windows & Doors. Our energy-efficient windows are engineered with high R-Values to keep your home snug and reduce energy costs. Each window is custom-fit to perfectly replace every existing window in your home, regardless of style or size. and is installed by our own factory-trained teams.

Not only will you save money, our windows are also attractive, maintenance-free and come in a variety of styles. Save Energy Company gives you a beautiful way to view the world from your home San Francisco Bay Area home!

We give you a choice of styles and materials

Unlike many replacement window contractors, Save Energy Company offers a wide array of window styles and materials for your home. We’ll help you select the style, size and material that best meet your needs and budget, and that will deliver the best return on investment for you.

Call us toll-free 1-800-728-3878 for a FREE estimate.

Can a Candle in the Wind Really Help Reduce Your Home Energy Bill? 15 Mar 2019 12:11 PM (6 years ago)

Save Energy is more than just a name to us – it’s also our mission. We truly want to help homeowners make their homes more energy efficient. That desire is part of the DNA of our company.

With that in mind, here’s a tip that will help increase the comfort of your home and help you save on your heating bill during these last few weeks of winter: hunt down pesky drafts.

Have you ever noticed one room or a section of a room in your house always seem colder? The likely cause is a draft – a flow of cold, outside air that enters your home through cracks around doors, windows and/or vents. If you can find the source of the draft, you can take steps to alleviate it. So, how do you find the pesky thing without taking a magnifying glass to every door and window? Here’s a quicker, easier way:

• On a windy day (and we get plenty of them), light a candle, tea light, incense stick or pluck a strand of hair (ouch!)
• Slowly move the candle, incense or hair strand around door jams, window sills and vents
• Look for flame flickers/smoke or any wavering of the hair strand not caused by your movement – BINGO! You’ve found the source of the draft.

Now what do you do? If the draft is coming from a window that opens, check the weather stripping. Do the same with any doors. Weather stripping doesn’t last forever and is susceptible to the elements. Overtime, it will break down. It can also get compressed which will lessen its effectiveness. If it looks worn, old, broken or doesn’t “spring back” when you touch it, replace it.

If replacing the weather stripping isn’t practical, you may want to place a draft stopper or rolled up towel over the problem area. (Amazon – no surprise – offers a wide selection of inexpensive options to fit doors and windows.)

If the offending draft source is around a sill, jam or vent, use silicone caulking to seal the area. Confirm you neutralized the culprit by repeating the candle, incense, hair trick.

The one thing you don’t want to do is seal with caulking a draft source that comes directly from a working window. You’re going to want to open that window come spring and summer. The dried caulking may make that extremely difficult.

One common source of drafts is the pet door. Inspect the door flap to ensure it seals tightly, as intended. If possible, put a curtain over the opening to help stop the draft from flowing deeper into the room.

Persistent drafts may be a sign that your windows are failing and need to be upgraded. In that case, give us a call. We’ll be happy to come take a look and see what type of replacement windows will be best for you and your home. We offer a wide selection of options from the top manufacturers to match any architectural style and fit any budget.

How can windows help prevent condensation and mold in your home? 6 Feb 2019 9:30 AM (6 years ago)

With the cold damp weather now upon us, it’s not unusual for many homeowners to start noticing more condensation and even mold on the inside of their windows. Needless to say, this is not a good thing for either one’s home or health, so let’s look at the causes and some possible solutions to these problems.

Condensation forms on the inside of windows when moist interior air hits the cold surface of the glass or window frame. Moisture builds up in your home from many sources including breathing, showering, cooking, cleaning dishes, plants, to name the most common. In some cases, things like fish tanks and other water sources inside the home can make a bad situation even worse.

Once the moist air from these sources hits the cool surface on the inside of windows, condensation starts to build up and, if untreated, that moisture can drip down onto the window sash and window sill and start rotting them out.

Extended periods of moisture can also allow mold to grow. Mold is both unsightly and unhealthy, particularly for those with a weakened immune system.

What’s the best solution to prevent mold from growing?

First, look at your home and lifestyle.  Are there ways to reduce the amount of moisture in your home? Is there an exhaust fan in the bathrooms or over the kitchen stove that can take as much moisture as possible immediately right out of the house? If there are, are they being used on a regular basis? Fans are a great tool but only when they’re utilized. Can the indoor plants be reduced by moving some to an enclosed porch during the wet California winters without hurting them? Are there other moisture producing items or activities that can be curtailed in winter?

Second, since it is colder in the winter, the windows in your home usually stay closed more, so there is not a healthy change of inside air. Therefore, it is helpful to open the windows whenever possible to get a change of fresh air into the home and allow some of the built-up moisture out.

If you are fortunate enough to be home during the day, open up the windows if it gets warm enough. If you have to leave your home during the day, perhaps you can leave your windows open a crack while you’re gone. Some people like to sleep with their windows open at night (I know I do) and bedrooms are often the biggest collectors of moisture since we are in bed for eight hours and not only are the windows closed but the shades are drawn, trapping the moist air right up against the windows.

Lastly, some windows are going to attract more moisture than others. Single-paned aluminum windows are probably the biggest culprit for moisture and mold. Both the single pane glass and the aluminum frame are good conductors of cold, so when the moist air inside the home hits that cold surface, you are more likely to get condensation and mold.

Aluminum is particularly bad at preventing moisture buildup. In fact, if you do have single (or even double) paned aluminum windows, you can touch both materials with your finger and the aluminum will be much colder than the glass. So replacing these windows with double-paned vinyl, fiberglass or wood windows will greatly reduce the likelihood of condensation starting since the moist air inside the home is now hitting a much warmer surface due to the new window’s insulation values.

Even with replacing your current windows with new, double-paned windows, we can never say for certain that one will never again get condensation, but the chances are greatly reduced. Just keep in mind that there are many lifestyle factors (remember the fish tanks?) that could contribute to a high moisture content in the home that would preclude any chance of real, consistent and lasting condensation reduction.

Why Is It So Difficult to Find A Good Contractor? 23 Jun 2014 10:42 AM (10 years ago)

Why is it so difficult to find a good contractor?

When you are finally ready to remodel your kitchen, put on a deck, replace your windows, or whatever your home improvement needs might be, the hard part is always finding the right contractor to do the job.

Of course, personal referrals are still the best, but not always.  The person that supplied you with the referral may have loved working with their contractor but they may have different personalities than you and you might find that while the contractor’s work is great, you just don’t get along with them personally. This may not be a big concern if you are doing a job that takes only a few days or a week, but you may not want to hire him or her if you are doing something longer like a kitchen remodel or an addition.

The best thing to do is to interview them as you are getting an estimate from them.  Honestly, you can probably tell fairly quickly if you are going to mesh or not but, just in case, do some further research as well using third party sources.

In the San Francisco Bay Area we are lucky to have Diamond Certified in addition to Yelp to help cross reference and vet your contractor.  Also check with the State Contractor’s License Board, your local BBB and any community chat rooms you have in your area.

Picking the right materials is important but even the best material will be wasted (along with your hard earned money) if they are not installed correctly.  Look beyond the sales pitch, it can save you a lot of heartache in the long run.